Which new damning report from consumer watchdog? UK electric car charging infrastructure ‘urgently needs to be improved’ if ministers are to persuade more motorists to go green is outlined.
Nearly half (48%) of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners surveyed say they struggle to find functioning public charging points.
which one? The UK government has said various issues need to be “addressed quickly”, including unreliability, payment difficulties and low availability in some areas.
Plug-in issues: Which half of EV drivers surveyed? Say they struggle to find functioning public charging points.Watchdog says ‘urgent improvement’ needed
Nearly 1,500 surveys which? found that three-quarters (74%) of members who own an EV or plug-in hybrid are dissatisfied with the state of public charging infrastructure.
Two in five said they had driven to a device only to find it wasn’t working, and 43% said they faced “technical problems” and weren’t able to charge it as planned. claim.
Beyond charger failures, 3 in 5 (61%) on the panel say they have faced difficulties making payments.
Which? They currently just charge their cars at home or at work due to the lack of convenient payment options. This is despite the government’s directive that all newly installed public charging points accept contactless card payments from his 2020.
Another major issue highlighted by EV owners is the disproportionate availability of 32,000 public devices nationwide.
Official government records show that for every 100,000 people living in London, there are 116 charging points in the capital. This compares with just 17 per 100,000 people in Northern Ireland, 27 in the North East and 29 in Yorkshire and Humber, according to Department of Transport figures at the end of July.
There are over 32,000 public charging devices across the UK, but as this table shows, they are not evenly distributed geographically.
Nearly half of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners say the nearest public charging point is more than a 20-minute walk from their home, according to the survey.
Which? Half of plug-in car owners say they have poor access to the devices they live in, and 45% estimate that the nearest charger is more than a 20-minute walk from their home. This applies to his third of UK estates.
Charging must be easy, reliable and seamless to support the transition to electric vehicles
A fifth said the lack of necessary devices was the top reason for choosing to abandon public charging networks altogether. On the other hand, the same percentage said that EV drivers had never used public charging networks.
The report came out a day after the prosecutors joined forces and signed a letter sent to the prime minister. Public network VAT reduced, the tax is four times the domestic charge. This means that charging using public networks will become increasingly expensive as wholesale electricity prices rise, making EVs more expensive to drive than gasoline vehicles in some cases.
FairCharge, which has campaigned to reduce the VAT from 20% to 5%, said demand for low-emission vehicles could be strangled if the government did not take swift action to reduce charging costs. I’m here.
As well as reliability issues, three in five EV owners say they face difficulties making payments with public devices, which is keeping many away from using the network. increase
which other? A survey of typical car owners found that one-fifth (39%) would not consider an EV because there are not enough charging points.
Watchdog calls on governments to extend the set of reliability criteria for fast-charging fast-charging devices to cover all public charging points with different speeds.
This ‘reliability criterion’ means that the charging point network must function normally 99% of the time on average.
which one? It also urges ministers to ensure that the “payment roaming” proposal eliminates the need for consumers to navigate multiple apps and cards for billing.
Sue Davis, which one? The head of consumer protection policy said: To get them to a point close to their home, or through a long journey.
“The government has plans to improve the consumer experience of using public charging networks by extending reliability standards across the network and making charging payments much easier with payment roaming proposals. Must be implemented quickly.
“Charging must be easy, reliable and seamless to support the transition to electric vehicles.”
Which one would you like to comment on? RAC spokesman Simon Williams said quality charging infrastructure would be a “key factor” in helping more people switch from conventional to electric vehicles.
“It is very important that our chargers are reliable, easy to use, and easy to access. So we are moving from a time when it was common to find unused chargers to a time when it was rare.” I have to,” he added.
In addition to this, public tariffs need to be priced more competitively, so the RAC, together with FairCharge, is campaigning to reduce the VAT at public toll stations from 20% to 5% to match domestic tariffs. increase.
“We need to ensure that people without driveways are not penalized with higher charging costs, or there is a very real risk that the government’s overall net-zero transport strategy will be undermined.”
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/electriccars/article-11239663/Which-calls-urgent-improvements-electric-car-charging-infrastructure.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 which one?Calls for ‘urgent improvements’ in electric vehicle charging infrastructure